Dawood brother was not attacked, say police

Updated on: 18 May,2011 01:55 PM IST |
IANS |

In a surprise announcement, police Wednesday said Iqbal Kaskar, the brother of India's most wanted mafia don Dawood Ibrahim, was not fired at by gunmen in the attack that killed his driver

In a surprise announcement, police Wednesday said Iqbal Kaskar, the brother of India's most wanted mafia don Dawood Ibrahim, was not fired at by gunmen in the attack that killed his driver. It was not immediately clear if he was the target.

Contradicting what the area police had said late Tuesday night, Deputy Commissioner of Police Rajkumar Vhatkar said Wednesday that Kaskar was not in the vehicle when the shooting took place.

"According to our information, Kaskar was not (there). Only his driver and bodyguard were present at the spot," Vhatkar told reporters.

He said Kaskar's driver Arif Syed Abubaker, 45, was shot in the chest and and died when gunmen opened fire near a restaurant, close to Kaskar's house on Pakmoria Street in south Mumbai.

Police nabbed two men after the incident. Two others, identified as Syed Bilal Mustafa Ali and Inderlal Bahadur Khatri, were arrested Wednesday.

Police are trying to ascertain who ordered the attack -- and whether Kaskar was the target -- and if the shooting signalled a return of gang wars on Mumbai streets.

Wanted in connection with a murder and land-grabbing cases, Kaskar was extradited from Dubai in 2003. However, he was acquitted in the cases for lack of evidence.

Presently, he deals in the real estate business. Dawood Ibrahim, according to Indian officials, is holed up in Pakistan, having fled India after the 1993 Mumbai bombings.